Jury Convicts Second Man In Wallingford Woman’s Murder After DNA Clears First

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) _ A Connecticut jury has convicted a man of the 1986 killing of a mother of four, after another man who served 20 years in prison for the crime was exonerated.

The New Haven Superior Court jury convicted 47-year-old Kevin Benefield on Wednesday of murder and felony murder during its second day of deliberations. Sentencing is set for March 23. Both charges carry 25 to 60 years in prison.

Jurors found that the former New York City resident killed 30-year-old Barbara Pelkey, whose nude body was found at a manufacturing company where she worked in her hometown of Wallingford. Authorities said Pelkey was raped.

Another man, Kenneth Ireland, was convicted of killing Pelkey and served 20 years in prison before being released in August 2009 based on new DNA testing that exonerated him.